According to unconfirmed sources, Barack Obama is being smeared by baseless claims that he would dramatically raise marginal tax rates to levels not seen since the 1970s or impose new taxes on everything from your child’s education fund to your water.

These accusations have no basis in truth and, according to Obama supporters, are repeatedly debunked.  Here are some key facts about the plan to set the record straight:

1) The Obama Plan Provides Generous Tax Cuts for Almost All American Families
The Obama plan will the typical family will pay tax rates that are 20% lower than they faced under President Reagan. Any and all charges that Obama would raise rates on capital gains, dividends, income, savings and so on for the approximately 98% of American families making less than $250,000 are simply not true.

2) The Obama Plan Would Cut Taxes For Middle Class Families By Three Times More Than Senator McCain’s Plan.
In recent weeks, the McCain campaign has repeatedly suggested that Obama voted to increase taxes on families making $42,000 per year. Factcheck.org declared this claim “simply false,” and the Washington Post Editorial Board determined that this claim was “unacceptably misleading.”

3) Under the Obama Plan, No One Will Pay Higher Tax Rates Than They Paid in The 1990s
Barack Obama believes that any responsible candidate must put forward specific ideas of how they would pay for their proposals to put us back onto the path of fiscal responsibility. That is why he has called for repealing a portion of the tax cuts passed in the last eight years for families making over $250,000. But he would limit all rates to be at or below what they were in the 1990s. Families making over $250,000 would pay the 1990s marginal income tax rates – of 39.6 and 36 percent – and capital gains and dividend tax rates of 20%. Obama’s 20 % capital gains rate is the lowest rate from the 1990s, and his 20% dividends rate is 39 percent lower than the rate President Bush proposed in 2001, and lower than all but 5 of the last 92 years we have been taxing dividends.

4) Obama Would Lower Taxes For the Vast Majority of Small Businesses
This is false because the Obama plan preserves existing tax rates for families making less than $250,000 a year, nearly 99 % of small business owners won’t see any tax increase under the Obama plan. Instead, these small firms and business owners are likely to get a tax cut under the Obama plan, which eliminates capital gains taxes for small businesses, provides a new 50% tax credit for healthcare, and helps lower health care costs to make small businesses competitive.

5) Obama Will Provide New Tax Benefits to Help Families Save and Create Wealth
The notion that Obama will raise taxes on families’ assets like their “homes” or “life savings” is absurd. In radio and TV ads, the McCain campaign has alleged that Barack Obama would increase taxes on “your life savings” or the “sale of your home”—bedrock assets for ordinary Americans. But in fact, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will repeal the estate tax for 99.7% of estates, offer a new universal mortgage tax credit to help working families achieve homeownership, and will offer a new, fully refundable 50% credit on the first $1,000 of retirement savings done by American families. Factcheck.org called these McCain attacks “simply not true for the vast majority of viewers who will see [them]” while the Washington Post called them “dishonest.”

John McCain believes that taxes should be simple, low and fair. His plan calls for cutting taxes on the middle class, being pro-growth, pro-innovation and senior friendly. His plan also includes eliminating wasteful spending, reforming Washington, address social security, lowering unemployment, removing trade barriers and reforming health care. Here are high level actions he proposing to take if he is elected president of the United States:

Elimination of Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT)
25 million middle class families are effected by the AMT Tax. According to John’s proposal, the permanent elimination of this tax will save a middle class family with children, who would have to pay AMT Tax, an average of $2,700.

His plan also calls for cutting the corporate tax rate from 35% to 25%. In recent years, U.S trade partners have lowered their rates, which in effect, have made America less competitive. He also proposes keeping tax rate low to provide better opportunities for U.S. entrepreneurs.  In the same light, John believes that low taxes on dividends and capital gains will promote savings and stir investment into innovative, high-value uses.  His plan also includes allowing first-year deduction of expenses on equipment and technology. This action will dramatically benefit America’s heartland, especially in cities like Cleveland and Detroit.

His pro-innovation tax cut proposition is to ban Internet and Cell phone taxes. It also calls for simplifying the tax code by establishing a Permanent Tax Credit equal to 10% of wages spend on research and development (R&D). This Permanent Tax Credit provide incentive for innovation while providing confidence in making R&D investment decisions.

The McCain tax plan calls for lowering Medicare premiums for the elderly by taking actions to reform the Medicare system. His plan addresses the need to reduce health care costs and control increases in premiums while preserving high-quality care.

John acknowledges that the spending in Washington has gone beyond being irresponsible; he cites than 20% of government programs are receiving failing grades. His ideas on this subject are to stop Pork-Barrel spending and waste by invoking the line-item veto of such bills. He also would address the wasteful spending in defense and non-defense programs.

Mr. McCain believes in lowering barriers to trade, so that American workers can take advantage of globalization. With 95% of the world’s customers outside the United States, we need to level the playing field by engaging in multilateral, regional and bilateral efforts to reduce trade barriers.

It is critical to keep American workers competitive by educating our youth and rewarding schools that demonstrate excellence.

Unemployment insurance is also an area that John proposes to modernize by providing retraining, relocating and assisting workers who have lost a job. He also believes in strengthening our community colleges and technical training institutes.

Finally, John is committed to comprehensive health care reform by addressing the rising costs that threaten families’ budgets, business competitiveness, and government programs.